Microsoft has added a new feature to Windows Vista Service Pack 1 which was released recently to beta testers that allows users to create a system recovery/rescue disk without using any third party software. A Windows repair disk contains only selected system files and repair tools, good enough to get your computer up and running (similiar to the ones offered by OEMs). Earlier, the only way to create a system recovery disk was using BartPE which wasn’t so difficult to use either:

+ Download and install BartPE
+ Select the location of your original Windows installation media
+ Execute BartPE which would then automatically burn the image to a CD/DVD

Starting from Windows Vista SP1, you can goto Start—>All Programs—>Maintenance and click on “Create a Recovery Disc”. Alternatively, you can launch the program from “%systemroot%\system32\recdisc.exe” and follow the wizard. The process takes about 5 to 10 minutes and requires the original Windows installation media and a blank CD/DVD.

To enter the Windows Recovery Environment, boot the CD/DVD and click the “Repair your computer” link at the bottom of the welcome screen to select the Windows partition you wish to repair. After this, it will present you with a list of options including startup repair, system restore and command prompt. Since this runs in Windows, you can even create a bootable version of the recovery disk on a USB Flash drive.